Fourth Vector Ch. 17

Eric turned to look at Olaf.I wonder, he thought to himself.Is this the same foreigner that Avila is chasing?

"Do we have a name? Identity? Anything on the warship or who commands it?"

Olaf shook his head. "Not yet, but we are working to figure it out."

"Why would my cousin be with this foreigner is the bigger question," muttered Eric under his breath.What could she possibly gain by attaching herself to this person? Unless . . .

"I want the identity of this foreigner immediately. I want it to be top priority. I need to know his name, and most importantly, I need to know what he looks like."

"Looks like?" asked Olaf, giving him a strange look.

"Yes, hair color, eye color, height, weight, all of it. Don't ask questions, just get it done."

"What about your cousin? What should we do with her?"

Eric looked at him and grinned. "I think it's about time we had another assassin pay her a visit, don't you think?"

"I can have that arranged," said Olaf with an expressionless face.

"Pick a better man this time. I don't want her getting away again," said Eric. "Send the best you have access to. No wait, send two men."

"Two of them?"

"Yes, two. Just in case we need to deal with this foreigner as well."

Olaf gave him a confused look. "Any particular reason you're so interested in this foreigner?"

Many, none of which you shall hear, thought Eric.

Eric turned away from the man. "Just get it done."

"Yes, Your Highness." Olaf bowed and quickly left the room, leaving Eric alone once more.

This might be his way of taking care of two birds with one stone. To finally get his cousin out of the way, as well as earning a personal favor from Avila for the foreigner as well. That was only if this foreigner was who he thought he was. And if that was the case, it might even be three birds.

Eric walked over to his own personal desk and took out some blank stationary. He began to write quickly.

ATTN: LORD REGAULFUS AVILA

I'd be delighted to help you take care of this foreign meddler.

*****

After his war council was over, Jack stewed in his own quarters while he waited for news. Kat had left right away once he gave his reluctant acknowledgment, disappearing into the evening and out of sight. He had no idea how a woman like her could possibly escape notice, but as the time went on, she still hadn't come back.

Part of him wondered if they would bring her back in a similar fashion to how they brought back the gold from the earlier attempt. Another part wondered whether they would bring her back at all, imprisoning her or worse if she was caught.

If they do catch her, I wonder if they'll even give me any warning? Or just start firing on my ships right away?

Jack looked out the port window toward the shore batteries, seeing them still inactive and appearing to be quiet. He had a lookout watching them full time, just in case they decided to train their sights on his ships, but so far, there'd been no movement.

Most importantly he thought about what he would do if he found himself in another war for Kat. Part of him questioned whether or not it would be wise to just reveal his identity, possibly forcing Aedan to put aside any hostilities. Would the king come to him if he learned he was about to go to war with the heir to the Galician throne? He had the proof in the form of the sword, so it wouldn't be a hard stretch, even if it would require him to announce himself far earlier than he intended.

Jack couldn't decide what made the most sense to do, and for that reason, he largely paced around his quarters waiting to hear back from Kat. After a certain while, it became too much for him to be alone with his thoughts, and he left his personal quarters and made his way to the bridge.

The only officer there currently was Cory Renner, who just happened to be looking out over the harbor when Jack arrived.

"Evening, Jack," greeted Cory before gesturing out to the city. "I was just enjoying the view."

He had a point to that one. The city did look great in the early evening hours from the lights and the way the moon cast its light down on it. It was just too bad they had to leave far too soon.

"It's a nice view, I'll give you that. How's everything up here? Quiet?"

"As quiet as can be. Just waiting on you to tell us when we should leave, although it seems quite late for that now, Jack. Did you still want to chance this with such little light?"

Of course, Cory didn't know about Kat sneaking off the ship, preventing their departure. As far as the rest of them knew, they were just waiting on Jack's word.

"Not yet, Cory. We may delay until morning," said Jack cryptically, not offering much more of an excuse.

Cory gave him a confused look before he ultimately shrugged. He then looked back out to the city. "Kind of reminds you of home, doesn't it?"

Jack looked over at him. "Java?"

"Yeah, it kind of reminds me of Lockhaven. Beautiful city by the sea, the lights, the noises. It's the first city we've really seen that resembles anything of our own. It just reminds me of being back at home."

Jack nodded and looked back out to the city. He could see how Cory made the comparison to his own home city. In a way, it did look similar. Perhaps that was one reason why he didn't really want to leave so soon, at least subconsciously. After nearly half a year of being away, it reminded him of being back in his country.

"I miss it at times. Being home," continued Cory. "Not that I don't enjoy this mission," he added quickly. "But I miss my family. Miss my girl back home."

"We've been on this mission for over six months now," said Jack. "How long has it been since you were in Java? At least before you transferred over from theValiant?"

"Almost nine months now," he replied. "On my last assignment, we went nearly three days without seeing Java, and now this one is already at nine months. I have to question when we'd go home again soon anyway."

Jack shrugged. "I'm not sure I can give you that answer, even though I want to. I half wondered if they would make us go back to relieve the blockade of Aberdeen, but the order has never come."

Cory nodded. "I thought about that too. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, Jack. I enjoy my job, and I think this mission will stay with me for the rest of my life. But I do miss home."

Jack put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "I do too. I hope we can go back soon enough. They can't keep us out here forever."

Cory let out a small smile before turning his attention back to the city. He brought up a good point. This was now one of the longest running missions most of them had ever been on. Apart from the marine replacements, all of them had been part of this task force for half a year. A good portion of them were homesick. To a degree, Jack was too.

He missed the sights of Java—the rolling hills and the lakes. He missed Jocelyn and her family, although he still hadn't come to terms with the fact that she wasn't his real sister. More importantly, he missed the somewhat carefree life before this mission. Before he found out things about his identity that were hard to reconcile. Sure, he may have been born a Galician, but he was raised a Javan. Would Java always be his home?

Could Galicia ever take its place?

It was a hard question to answer for a place he'd never been to but he stewed about it quietly as Cory got back to work. A short while later, Abigail called out to him through the command radio. Jack grabbed it excitedly, thinking there was a chance Kat could have come back.

"Can you come down to my quarters when you get a second?" asked Abigail.

"Duty calls," said Jack with a small smirk to Cory. "Let me know if you need me."

"I got it covered. See you soon, Jack!"

He crossed the rest of the ship to get to Abigail's quarters, entering it swiftly and seeing her on the other side. She had the radio pressed up to her lips, and he could tell she was getting a message from one of the engine rooms. Jack was content to wait until the message was over, and finally she set down the radio and looked at him.

"Are we still leaving tonight? It's almost pitch black outside, Jack," she said while crossing her arms.

He shook his head. "Not yet, at least. We're still waiting."

She frowned. "Waiting on what?"

"On Kat," he admitted. "I let her go off the ship in one last attempt to get to the king."

Abigail's eyes went wide. "Really, Jack? With all that's going on, you let her do that?"

"I know it's crazy," he whispered quietly. "But she had this look in her eyes that she could get this done. I don't know what it was, but I just had a feeling she could do it."

"I sure hope for all of our sakes that she's right. I really don't want to get involved in yet another war here."

Jack shook his head. "I don't either. I'm putting a heavy amount of trust in her to get this right. I just need to see what happens."

Abigail nodded. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to doubt you. She really hasn't done anything to us to make us question her judgment, right?"

"I questioned it when she first brought up the idea," admitted Jack with a chuckle. "But she's been right so far. I figured it was worth the risk."

Abigail got up from her desk and walked toward him, encircling her arms around his waist. "How are you doing? You were out of bed so fast this morning that I feel like I've barely seen you today."

"I'm all right, I suppose. I was just on the bridge talking with Cory and he kept talking about going home again. Back to Java. We've been away for over six months and that's not even counting Quiller's Cove."

She rested her head against his chest. "I do miss my mom and dad. My brothers too." She pulled back to look at him. "But this mission is important. He knows that, right?"

"He definitely does, but I think it's okay to be a little homesick at times."

"Are you? Homesick, that is?"

Jack took a deep breath. "I don't know anymore. Yes, I wouldn't mind seeing my sister, but I have to wonder if Java is still my home."

She gave him a confused look. "How can you ask that? You grew up there, Jack. We all did. How can it not be home for you?"

"My home is on this side of the world," he said softly. "I'm not really Javan."

She forced him to look at her. "You are, Jack. Just because you have some Galician blood in you doesn't mean you have to erase everything about your childhood. The people that raised you are Javan. Your friends back home are Javan. This mission, all the members of our task force, all Javan. Even one of your women is Java." She placed his hand against her heart.

"I've just been so conflicted lately," he admitted. "You don't understand what this revelation has done to me. I feel like my soul has been torn in two. One part pulls from the east. The other from the west. Eventually, I'm just going to get ripped up in the middle."

There was concern in her eyes. "You can still be both, you know?"

"What if I can't though? A day is going to come when I'm forced to choose. Choose Java or Galicia. It may not be today or tomorrow or even next week, but it will come, Abigail. What if I'm not ready for it? What if I make the wrong decision?"

"I've always put my trust in you making the right decision," she said while reaching up to caress his cheek. "I won't stop trusting you now."

He didn't respond. Every fiber in his body wanted to ask her what she considered theright decision to be but he already knew what her answer would be. He felt profoundly stuck.

"I know this isn't something that you asked for," said Abigail finally. "I know this was just dropped on you out of the blue, but if it had to happen to anyone, I'm glad it was you."

He smirked at her. "Glad it was me that was being tortured like this?"

Abigail giggled. "No! But I'm glad that it's in your hands more than anything else. I trust you, Jack. I know you'll do the right thing in the end."

He swallowed heavily as she placed her head back against his chest. He just hoped his version of the right thing matched hers.

"Your heart is beating so quickly right now," she said while turning to look at him.

"Just nerves about all of this. And I'm hoping we hear from Kat soon."

"I'm sure we will," she said with confidence.

Her command radio went off in the next minute, and they were right back to their normal roles. An officer was trying to write up another officer under their command, always a tricky subject, and Abigail had to turn her attention back to deal with it. It was good timing, as there was soon a persistent knock on her door.

It was Twitch.

"Jack, I need you right now," said the man, his eyes wide with excitement.

"What is it, Twitch?"

The deputy then said the magic words he'd been waiting on. "Kat is back. She has someone with her."

Jack was nearly sprinting in the next heartbeat. He waved back to Abigail before he crossed the threshold, but he soon took off in a near run. The only thing on his mind was who was the visitor?

"Did you see who she was with? Who is it?"

Twitch shook his head. "I'm not sure. He was covered up pretty well. I didn't get a chance to see him."

"But it was a him though? A man was with her?"

Twitch nodded.

Jack wondered if it was some kind of palace guard or minister that she'd gotten to. Perhaps even a family member of the king if he was lucky. He also considered the thought it was another officer, this one letting them know their countries were now at war.

He shuddered at that particular thought and tried to hope for the best.

As soon as they'd made it to his quarters, Jack took a deep breath and opened the door.

The first thing he saw was Kat's face. It brightened as soon as she saw him, a small smile filling her lips as she made her way to embrace him.

"Jack!"

He took her into his arms and squeezed her tight. "Are you okay?"

"Good as can be," she said with a small, worried smile. He couldn't quite figure out why she looked worried to him, but something wasn't quite right. It was a familiar look for her face.

He'd last seen it the night she told him about his identity.

Jack tried to put those thoughts out of his head as he turned to look at their guest. Their identity was still shrouded by their coat, and their face was completely concealed. Jack glanced back at Kat. "Who is this? Did you get my message through?"

Kat nodded. "I did. Jack, may I present King Aedan of Picardy?"

At that moment, the man lowered his hood. The first thing that Jack saw was the mane of red hair. Not only was it heavy on the top of his head but also in his beard as well. The word bushy sprung immediately to mind, and the man's piercing green eyes locked on him. He was tall, nearly as tall as Jack, and if he had to guess, Jack estimated the man wasn't too much older than himself.

"You must be the man we've been hearing about. Jack Easterbrook, I take it?" asked Aedan, offering a hand in greeting.

Jack took it as he shot a sly smile over to Kat. "You really did it," he said to her in a whisper.

Kat grinned. "I told you I could."

"It's good to meet you, Your Majesty," said Jack, shaking Aedan's hand heartily. "I have to say it was my intent to meet you, but I would've gone to your palace. I didn't expect you to come like this just to my ship!"

Aedan grinned and shook his head. "It's no matter whatsoever. And please, let's dispense with this 'Your Majesty' deal, all right? I could say the same thing to you!" He then pointed to Kat. "Especially with what Katherine has told me tonight. Her and I go way back, and it's been way too long since I last saw her. With everything she's been through, this was a favor I could easily repay back."

Jack looked back over to Kat. "Katherine, then? I guess I never put it together that Kat was short for something else."

Kat managed to look both embarrassed and worried at the same time. "Jack, there's something I should tell you," she said in a low tone.

Aedan's brown crinkled in confusion. "Tell him? Does he not know?"

Jack looked back and forth at both of them. "Tell me what? What don't I know?"

Kat turned to look away. "He doesn't know yet."

Aedan then turned to him for the answer, his face bewildered. "Jack, your companion for the last several months has been Katherine Rosdahl, the deposed Regent of Galicia."